sweep picking question

[Jason01]

I figured someone here has to have some tips for me. I'm working on sweeps and need help with string noise. How do you deaden the sound when you lift off the string? Any time I get going with any kind of speed it just sounds like mush from all the open strings ringing. Normally I'd mute with my picking hand but its not really possible with this motion.

[seeker]

I figured someone here has to have some tips for me. I'm working on sweeps and need help with string noise. How do you deaden the sound when you lift off the string? Any time I get going with any kind of speed it just sounds like mush from all the open strings ringing. Normally I'd mute with my picking hand but its not really possible with this motion.

I'm not a sweep picker, but my former guitar sensei is: Matt Mills

Watch some of his videos and email him if you want. He does respond to most emails (eventually).

IMHO, and I've told him so, he uses too much reverb. Used to reach over and turn it down (Boss RV) when he wasn't looking during a lesson, lol. He is actually nailing each note at a time, with no background ring, period.

For him, it's a matter of absolute control at ALL times. No matter what he's playing, you can strum all the strings near the nut and will only hear the one(s) he wants to be heard. This includes uberfast arpeggios. It's a game he and his guitar buds in HS used to play with each other. Done using a combination of both sides of the palm on the picking hand as well as the other hands fingers.

[landon w]

the most important factor in sweep picking to remember is building up your speed slowly. (no brainer i know)

Check the action on your guitar, if it is too high you are going to get that ring that your trying to avoid. remember too that the palm of your hand should be lightly touching the strings. LIGHTLY. this will allow the strings to ring but not cause a lot of excess noise when letting off.

Its really about technique, and practice. Also practice with no distortion at first, get clean then add it back in. If you get that nice clean seperated sound from a clean setting, it will sound beautiful when distorted.

Keep practicing, you'll get it. Watch you tube and find some greg howe vids or lessons. This will help with your techniuqe and give you some more scales to arrpegiate.

[Dr Rockso]

sweeping is a doozy to 'get', but once you do it's very easy to generate a whole lot of speed!

the main factor seems to be people focussing too much on the right hand 'sweep' part and neglecting the left hand, which not only has to fret notes but mute the unwanted strings.

as the other guys have said lighter strings and a low action help, but most of all it's about a lot of practice and a lot of patience!

check out anything by frank gambale, his explanations of sweeping and economy picking are fantastic and he goes through stuff at a real relaxed pace. he also explains his muting technique that lets him play only the notes he wants!

[zorrow]

The key idea is applying pressure with the fingers of the left hand just to the string/fret you want to hear, while you keep slightly touching the previous adjacent note in order to mute it.

Take for example an ascending D-major arpeggio, starting at the 5th fret in the A string:

While you sweep-pick from D (5th fret, A string) to F# (4th fret, D string), the finger that is releasing the D note must stay for long enough touching the string without pressing it against the fret. This will mute the note that you just hit. Then you hit the F# note and let it ring, and then the same thing repeats --when you go down from F# to A you apply the same principle, and so on.

It does take some time to master, so I'd suggest you to start practicing with only two adjacent strings for every possible finger/interval combination, ascending and descending.

Then start using three strings patterns, for all the inversions of the major, minor, diminished and augmented triads, using the E-B-G strings first, then B-G-D and then G-D-A.

To complete the workout (and as one thing one often does when sweep-picking is expanding/completing the run with legato-played notes), learn the "triangular shapes" using two adjacent strings to play triads --for examble, B-string, 3rd fret; E-string, 2nd fret and E-string, 5th fret will give you D-F#-A, which is the first inversion of the D-major triad.

To play it, hammer-on the A note when ascending from F# to A, and pull-off from A to F# when descending. Practice this kind of move for every possible triad and inversion, and you'll be soon in business.